Richard Madeley, the television presenter, has warned Twitter trolls that “prosecution awaits” for making rape threats against his daughter after she defended her mother’s comments about Ched Evans, the footballer convicted of rape.

Judy Finnigan this week provoked anger during a discussion on ITV’s Loose Women about whether Evans should return to his footballing career. She claimed his crime was “non violent” and did not cause “bodily harm”.

Her comments caused a wave of criticism and rape threats against her daughter, Chloe, a 27-year-old fitness instructor.